"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer

Saturday, September 17, 2005

A tale of two tails

Five cats have allowed us to live in our house and take care of them.

Our latest adoption occurred when Darling Daughter's white cat Justina had a tryst with the resulting birth of four white fur balls. Suckers that we are, one white female with a light grey patch on the top of her head came to take over our hearts and hearth. Our eldest granddaughter had named her Tiger, but to me she didn't look like a tiger. During the drive home, we decided upon Tiger Lily as a compromise name. Granddaughter was very pleased.

The other four cats -- Alley Cat, Peaches, Sweetie, and Polly-I -- all grown up, territorial, and crotchety, hissed plenty when this puny, mewling baby show up at the house. None would come near this funny-smelling kitten. Eventually, however, Polly-I -- low man on the Alpha Cat totem pole -- decided she would mother Tiger Lily.

Polly-I was found on a cold, rainy Spring day huddled on the front passenger-side wheel of our van while we were in a local pizza restaurant, Pagliai's, having lunch. By the looks of her, she was about six weeks old, starving, cold, wet, and sickly looking. We didn't hesitate. We immediately took her into the car, wiped her off with a hand towel and fed her leftover pizza -- hence, her name Polly-I in honor of our auspicious meeting at an Italian pizza restaurant. As you can see, she has turned into a sleek, beautiful cat, very gentle in nature, and even though she has been spayed, she took to mothering Tiger Lily like a pro. Now, they are inseparable. Our other cats have also accepted Tiger Lily's playful antics and are generous enough to allow her to eat her fill of the canned food before they each have a taste. Although each cat has a distinct personality, we love them all (with certain reservations toward Peaches who can sometimes be a naughty cat). Fate has led them all to us under different circumstances, and as Martha would say, that's a good thing. Bye for now.